


The Garish Sun

by kcanwrite



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Gen, Pete's World
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-02-28 18:32:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2742713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kcanwrite/pseuds/kcanwrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Love knows not distance; it hath no continent; its eyes are for the stars."<br/>Gilbert Parker</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Garish Sun

**Author's Note:**

> This was part 1 of what was intended to be a four-part series. The first chapter wasn't as well-received on Tumblr as I had hoped, so I lost inspiration. This does not mean I will never finish it.

Rose awoke to screams like stars ripping apart. Like galaxies being torn to pieces. She breathed in, just once, and all was quiet. The shades were left open, allowing the sky to gaze down at her with all its intimidating wonder. The moons faded in and out with the shifting clouds. Stars twinkled, bright as ever. Then, suddenly, as if a great gash had opened, the sky burned red. The brightness bloomed from a center before spreading from horizon to horizon. Color flared before fading back to black—a deep black, darker than before. Rose swung her feet over her bed and stood slowly. As she made her way to the window, fingers brushing the sill then grasping it for support, she realized what was missing. The stars had blinked out of existence. Every last one.

Downstairs, Jackie gasped and dropped a dish. The horrific sound outside grated at her eardrums, louder than the shattering plate on the floor. She covered her ears and scrunched her eyes shut. ”Argh!” A million thoughts raced through her head until a small voice sounded from the doorway. 

"Mummy, why’ve the stars gone out?" It was Tony. The boy always asked unexpected questions, but this took Jackie by surprise. She turned to look out the window. He was right; the sky appeared like a void, absorbing all the world’s light. She knew right away something was wrong—something the Doctor would normally look into.  
She turned back to Tony with a brave face. Jackie opened her mouth to spout a fib about clouds that she hoped would ease his worries, but closed it again, knowing Tony would see right through it. Instead, she knelt down to his level and let the possibilities roll through her head. Rose. Torchwood must be on top of this. Jackie’s daughter was asleep upstairs, as far as she knew, but she’d surely be called into work soon. This was right up Torchwood’s alley.

"Mummy?"

Jackie smiled and hugged Tony to her chest. “Shh, darlin’. You needn’t worry yourself about that. Rose’ll take care of it.”

He pulled his head away from her and looked up, unsure. ”How?”

Jackie sighed and resorted to the truth. ”I dunno, love.”

Jackie had been right. Rose was called into work minutes after the sky went silent, and she had scarcely left in the 13 days since. Not only had the stars disappeared, the two moons now shone so brightly, they were visible during the day. They had stopped cycling through their phases and remained full, inching closer together at an astonishing rate. Now, the moons had begun to appear overlapping in the sky, so that the sweltering days were lit by a lopsided figure eight and the increasingly bright sun. The nights, however, remained darker and colder than Rose ever thought possible. It was as if the moons couldn’t find it within themselves to pierce the inky blackness. Torchwood was stumped.

The entire task force had been working seemingly nonstop for two weeks with no leads. Normally, the responsible party—Daleks, Sontarans, what-have-you—would take credit in some way. They would make demands or threaten the safety of the planet. At least, that’s how it’d been in Rose’s world. 

Here, she never knew what to expect. At a cursory glance, Pete’s World didn’t seem vastly different. Sure, there were zeppelins, Vitex drinks, and Rose’s living father, of course, but beyond that, it appeared rather similar. Since joining Torchwood, Rose found that that first impression couldn’t be more wrong. The universe operated differently. The “enemy species,” as Torchwood called them, attacked in subtle ways rather than using predictable histrionics. Rose had yet to identify a behavior pattern for any of the species they handled. It kept her on toes and guessing. That part of her job was exciting. 

Her coworkers, on the other hand, were busy. They’d had no time to welcome her with warm, open arms, but Rose wasn’t too bothered by it. She mostly kept to herself, working on solo projects others overlooked. It was enough to sustain her, but not enough to fulfill her. She longed for days past, full of adventure, friendship, and her Doctor. Without him, defending the universe just wasn’t the same. Frankly, Rose didn’t feel at home here.

Lately, however, Rose had found a new purpose, an idea to get her up in the morning. She’d been working quietly with some of the tech and gadget guys. She knew they found her annoying with all her vague requests and strange questions, but she was thankful they didn’t pry. Her project was secret until finished. It would need testing, but she was almost there.

"Tyler, get your ass over here!"

Rose jumped, startled by her boss’s call. Her desk was littered with diagrams and equations she’d rather not share—not yet. She stuffed them into a drawer. The resulting machine couldn’t be hidden, however. She rushed from one end of Torchwood’s base to the other.

"What the hell is this?" Her boss, Yvette Valentino, gestured pointedly at the vague cannon-shaped structure occupying Rose’s project area—as well as three others.

Rose cleared her throat. Lying to Yvette wasn’t an option. “It’s a dimension cannon, ma’am. At least, it will be when I’m through with it.”

"Why?" Yvette wrinkled her nose disapprovingly. "For what purpose?"

"Well, the stars are going out. The moons have gone mad. It’s hot as hell." She sighed. "We need help, and I… I know of someone."

Yvette closed the space between them, walking with distinct arrogance. She crossed her arms behind her back and leaned forward, looking down her thin, pointed nose at Rose. “Correction, dear. The stars have gone out. The moons are simply merging. And, you need to get over it. The party’s over. There is nothing we can do to change the will of the universe. Find a new project!”

Rose furrowed her brow. “All due respect, ma’am, but… No.”

Back in Rose’s home universe, the Doctor twirled, sending the tails of his purple waistcoat flying in all directions. He clasped his hands together with an eager grin. “Where shall we go next? Disco dancing in 3070’s America? A feast with King Henry VIII? Martinis on Mars?”

"Are there really martinis on Mars?" Clara ran around the TARDIS console to raise her eyebrows at him.

He wrinkled his nose and flicked his hands at her, turning to play with the controls. “No, of course not! Don’t be ridiculous.” A wicked grin overtook his face as he pivoted back around. “We’ll pick some up from Neptune on the way over. Your solar system offers so much more than you all realize.” He opened his arms to the ceiling. ”Humans have so much to discover in the next few centuries, Clara. Oh, I do love when they finally see Pluto up close!” He shook his head and smiled to himself. “They never see her coming!”

Clara cocked her head to the side at his final comment, unsure if she should be worried or chalk it up to his typical babble. The TARDIS wheezed as the Doctor laughed to himself and activated a variety of switches, levers, and buttons. “Here we are at last!”

Clara adjusted the scanner, but the picture wasn’t clear. “Where is here, exactly?”

The Doctor made his way to the doors. Looking back at Clara, he threw them open. ”Ancient Rome!” He took a large step through the doorway. ”Home of the—” His speech stopped short.

"Doctor?" Clara turned away from fiddling with the scanner.

He stood just outside the open doorway, unable to move. 

"Doctor, are you alright?" Clara jogged towards him, but he moved at last. She watched him take one step backwards, then another and another. Someone’s hand was pressed delicately to his chest. Golden light spilled into the TARDIS. Moments later, a woman came into view. She kicked the TARDIS doors shut behind her, effectively sussing out the eerie light. With a steadying hand on each of his arms, she attempted to focus his attention.

"Doctor," the woman spoke softly. "It’s me."

He shook his head. ”No. How— how can you—? You’re not real. You can’t be.” All the whirring gears in his head couldn’t piece together the possibility of what—or rather, who—stood before him.

Clara joined them on the walkway and piped up. “Doctor, what’s going on?” She glanced at his ghost pale, awestruck expression. ”Are you alright,” she asked again.

The Doctor shook his head slightly. His lips parted, sticky from dryness. The two women watched him breathe out and in, calming himself. He spoke one word: ”Rose.”


End file.
